


A Night Out

by Syksy



Category: Cats of Grand Central - Diane Duane
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 13:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1094336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syksy/pseuds/Syksy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhiow and Urruah have a night off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MiraMira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraMira/gifts).



> A thousand thanks to my beta!

"I'm still not sure how you convinced me to come with you," Rhiow muttered, as she tried to avoid being trampled.  She thought the _ehhif_ custom of wearing heels on their feet preposterously unpractical, as well as potentially life threatening. Their fondness for garments that made normal living difficult and, for a queen, sometimes impossible, would never make any sense to her.  Looking your best was important, maybe even essential, but People would never hamper themselves for looks. For one thing, graceful and effortless movement was an essential part of one's appearance.

 

"You did say it might be interesting," Urruah replied, stopping to lick his paw innocently.  "And we should spend some nights off with our teammates. It’s good for morale.”

 

“You overheard an _ehhif_ consultant saying that to the employees at the cafeteria yesterday. I know you did,” Rhiow said. 

 

“Yes,” he admitted, “but that doesn’t mean it isn’t actually true. People aren’t meant to work all the time, and we are a pride, as well as a team. We should enjoy each other’s company once in a while.  At least us adults.” He bumped his head against Rhiow’s briefly and said, “Let’s get going, you don’t want to miss the beginning.”

 

The conversation in question had happened earlier the same day, during what had been supposed to be routine maintenance, but had naturally turned out to be an inter-dimensional hostage situation. Why did people keep assuming that if they knew how to walk through a gate, they could do whatever they wanted with it? It never went well. One would have thought the Powers would warn them, but Rhiow guessed that it was once again one of Their ways of making people learn from their mistakes. _Though sometimes I think they are too fond of that approach_ , she thought to herself.

 

After they had sorted everything out and were enjoying some well-deserved pastrami, Urruah had told her about the latest _oh’ra_ he wanted to see. “It’s all about this queen who used to live in _Hjahan,_ and her voice is like cream to your ears,” he’d said, tail twitching lightly with excitement. ”That doesn’t sound very pleasant,” Rhiow had teased him. In response he’d aimed a halfhearted swipe at her ear and gone on to ask her to come too. She’d been tired, but happy to have a belly full of food and no immediate crisis in sight and hadn’t felt like making much of an effort to resist. Urruah did have a point about how doing things together would help the team function better, especially with the recent changes in their makeup. Arhu was shaping up pretty well, but he wasn’t Saash and it wouldn’t be fair to expect him to be.

 

They made their way up a strangely winding staircase.   _Why do they put carpet on these things?_ Rhiow wondered _, it feels nice enough on one’s paws but_ ehhif _wear shoes outside, so it shouldn’t make any difference to them. Maybe it’s something to do with sound. The noise of all this lot is enough to make your ears ring even without the clattering those silly heels would make._ At this point her thoughts were interrupted by one of the aforementioned shoes almost crushing her paw, and she decided it would be better to concentrate on making it up the stairs without losing any body parts she would really miss.

 

Rhiow let out a slight sigh of relief when they left the stairs and finally got to “their” seats. Urruah apparently always knew which places were vacant for whatever reason. He took them straight to an area that he said was called a box. “Whatever for?” Rhiow asked. “It’s hardly that small, and doesn’t even have all its walls.”

 

“I honestly have no idea,” Urruah admitted. “It smaller to an _ehhif,_ naturally, but not too cramped. Maybe they used to sit in boxes, and the term is left over from those times, but I don’t remember ever reading anything like that.”

 

The red velvet seat was a lot better than a box would have been, anyway, even though she worried for a second what the cleaning staff would think if it was covered in hair the next day. _Best not to shed too much, then_ , she admonished herself and stretched out more comfortably. Urruah had already curled up on the seat with the relaxed air of someone perfectly at home, his nose facing the stage.

 

The performance was interesting, Rhiow had to admit. Sort of like watching _hauissh_ might be for other species, half incomprehensible and half full of layers she was sure she wasn't seeing, but interesting all the same. The emotion the singers managed to put into their performance touched her, even when she had no idea of the circumstances that had supposedly caused those feelings. There were certainly worse ways to spend an evening and seeing Urruah positively glow with happiness was enjoyable in itself. Then the light changed and something happened.

 

She kneaded her claws into the seat in unconscious pleasure. Sweet Iau, what _was_ that sound? It wasn't the singing, or the somewhat distractingly loud music accompanying it either. No, it was some strange amalgamation of both, a harmony that sounded just right, like your fur just after a thorough washing. Or like hyperstrings, after some unusual strain, finally slipping in their normal positions again. She felt she might float in it, and for one long moment she had an idea what Urruah found so fascinating about _oh’ra._ Then the music altered and she could think clearly for herself again.

 

“I still don’t understand,” Rhiow complained. ”She waits all those years for the tom to come back, and then when he does, she kills herself. How is that supposed to help with anything? And what does she need the tom for anyway? They raised the child well enough without him, as one would expect. I know _ehhif_ toms often help, but it isn’t actually necessary.”

 

"It's their customs once again, I think," Urruah tried to explain, even though his own ears had a distinctly puzzled cast. "They made a promise, but the tom didn't actually mean it, or at least not like the queen did. So he betrayed her. And then he was going to take the youngster, which is plainly absurd, but that's _ehhif_ for you. For some reason the queen thought that it would be better if he went away, but didn't want to be without them either. There was something about honor too. That's very popular in _oh'ra,_ but I still don't quite have the hang of their version of it. It's so different from ours, though they do at least understand about saving face almost as well as we do. But I'm sure I’m going to master it one of these days."

 

The last sentence was said with such earnest determination that Rhiow had to smile. She doubted that there were many _ehhif_ scholars of the art half so determined, much less ones with such a handicap when it came to cultural concepts. "I'm sure you will," she said, "and when you do, you can translate their doings for the rest of us. It might even come in handy, every once in a while." Urruah flicked his tail but didn't answer.

 

They were in the green room as Urruah called it, talking about the performance. He'd claimed it was what one was supposed to do. “It’s part of the whole experience. Usually I have to skip it, since there is no one I'm allowed to talk to around,” he’d said, and there’d been something in his tone that might have been pleading, coming from someone else. She’d wanted to discuss the experience in any case, so there they were. The seats weren't as nice, but she supposed the previous ones needed to be vacated for some reason or other, since the _ehhif_ also had been in a hurry to leave the big auditorium.

 

"In any case," Rhiow said, determined to be fair. "I liked it more than I thought I would." Seeing Urruah's ears draw forward in eagerness she hurried on, "Not to say that I feel the need to come again anytime soon, except maybe if they put up that Egyptian one I've heard you talk about. That might be worth seeing, even if it's also full of toms being toms and queens being surprised about it, when they really should know better. That’s beside the point, though, so let's just say I'm glad I came. But right now I would eat even a pigeon. You never said these things last so long!"

 

“It’s traditional to go out afterward too,” Urruah replied with transparent nonchalance. _For the Dams sake, his whiskers are vibrating with the effort to stand still,_ Rhiow thought, letting her own draw forward. All she said, though, was,“I guess we could try that new place you’ve been going on about, the one where the customers have to catch their own fish, or something like that?” The look on Urruah’s face was definitely worth any sleep she was going to lose.


End file.
